Lord Shiva lived on Mount Kailash. One day He started explaining the Vedas to his wife Goddess Parvati. The explanations and discussions went on for many years. One day Parvati lost her concentration. As a result, Lord Shiva lost his temper. In a fit of anger, he said, “Go to earth and take birth as a fisherwoman.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than Parvati disappeared. “Oh! What have I done?” mourned Shiva. The great Lord groaned in despair: “I can’t live without my beloved wife.”
With each passing day and with no Parvati by his side, Shiva grew sadder and sadder. His loyal servant Nandi, the bull, could not bear the anguish that his master was going through anymore. He thought, “My master will only be happy if his beloved came back to Mount Kailash.”Meanwhile on earth, Parvati took the form of a baby girl. The chief of the fishermen community saw the baby under a tree. He picked her up and took her home. The chief brought her up as his own daughter. He named her Parvati. The young and spunky child would help him during fishing. Years went by and the courageous baby grew into a beautiful young girl. She could row the boats faster than anyone else and was an adept fisherwoman.
Meanwhile, on Mount Kailash, Shiva continued to yearn for his lost wife. One day Nandi went up to him and said, “My Lord, why don’t you call your wife back here?” “I cannot do that, Nandi. According to her birth she is destined to marry a fisherman,” Shiva said sadly.“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll have to do something about it,” Nandi said to himself. The next day Nandi took the form of a large whale. He went to that part of the sea where the fishermen used to come for fishing. He started troubling the fishermen. The fishermen went to complain to their chief. “We cannot fish in the sea anymore. A large whale upturns our boats and tears off our nets,” they wailed.
Hearing the complaints of the fishermen, the chief announced, “Whosoever will catch that whale will be allowed to marry my daughter Parvati.”Parvati was known far and wide for her beauty and courage. Needless to say, many young fishermen tried one by one but could not catch the whale. The chief then prayed to Lord Shiva, “O Lord, please help us to get rid of this large fish.” Parvati also prayed, “O Lord, please come to our help.” Shiva on Mount Kailash heard Parvati’s prayers. He took the form of a young and handsome fisherman.
He approached the chief and said, “I am here to help you. I’ll catch that whale and then marry your daughter Parvati.” “We will always be thankful if you indeed help us,” the chief said.
When the young man went to sea to catch the whale, Nandi was very happy to see his master approaching. He let the young man catch him, thus keeping the promise he had made to the chief. The chief was only too happy to arrange the wedding of the handsome young man with his beautiful daughter. Thus Lord Shiva managed to win back Goddess Parvati once again.